situation from the viewpoint of the changes that have been implemented by states and relevant governing institutions in Canada and China and the USA in the face of this worldwide scourge

situation from the viewpoint of the changes that have been implemented by states and relevant governing institutions in Canada and China and the USA in the face of this worldwide scourge

The novel CORONA VIRUS pandemic has taken the world by surprise. Most countries, particularly in Europe, have found themselves behind the curve in the fight to curb its spread. This has led to a shutdown of markets, leisure, and social life with the effects being felt throughout the globe. As a result, governments have had to put in drastic measures not only to deal with an unprecedented crisis but also to mitigate the far-reaching effects the disease has had. This paper will assess the situation from the viewpoint of the changes that have been implemented by states and relevant governing institutions in Canada and China and the USA in the face of this worldwide scourge.

Leading Change

In most countries, the leaders of government were tasked with driving the requisite measures according to the nature of their countries. They are required to embody various traits to facilitate the changes they are attempting to cause. According to Bennis (2000), leaders should be visionary and passionate about the change they are trying to bring about. They must show courage as they set direction and motivate the rest of the populace to follow their lead. They must play the role of sponsor for the change by providing the change process with their full support. They must avoid trying to be the hero by making excessively brave decisions that are likely to be detrimental in the long run. They should instead work hand in hand with change agents and implementers to push forward their idea for maximum acceptability.  

China has played a major role in the panning out of this pandemic. The COVID 19 virus was first reported on December 30 2019 Wuhan China. According to the WHO report, the Communist Party of China and the State Council kick started a nationwide response programme upon the detection of the infectious nature of the virus. The Effective Ruler of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping personally directed the preventive measures being prescribed by health experts including communicating effectively to influence his people positively as well as create awareness which is a key role for leaders when directing change (Bennis 2000). He directed the Chinese prime minister to show a lot of courage and go to Wuhan to coordinate the outbreak. The results of their efforts have been a rapidly flattened curve for the infections rate in China. This is especially laudable considering the vast population it has as well as the fact that it was in initially on the road to a dismal outcome.

In Canada, the pandemic hit quite late with a response being released by the government on March 11. These measures were outlined by Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister. They included a one billion Canadian Dollars fund to mitigate economic setbacks that were likely to occur. His response was measured and appropriate to the crisis at that time. He indicated that all levels of government were to treat the disease as a first priority in their operations. He had earlier created an ad hoc cabinet committee to lead the response on March 5 chaired by the deputy ,prime minister and vice chaired by the president of the treasury board, the demonstrating a visionary approach to the crisis as it served greatly in the administration of the fund created. His performance can be rated as good with respect to the fact that Canada has not suffered much as compared to other rather economically and social similar countries such as the USA.

The USA took a different approach during the crisis. At the moment, it is about to become the epicenter of the new pandemic. This is because it prioritized response over containment. In the early March, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, said that the virus was unlikely to become very serious in his country and that the situation would be dealt with. He later endorsed social distancing measures with a motive of alleviating them later to allow business to resume. This was a brave decision made in the face of the pandemic forcing other countries into lockdown at the time. In early April he changed his tone to extend the social distancing guidelines and warned his citizens to brace for a grim period. This showed a dynamism that was necessary to notify Americans of the graveness of the situation if they had not already seen it for themselves. He is being blamed by some quarters for his initial management of the crisis as some areas such as New York have been overrun by the pandemic.

Organizational Change

Organizational change is the process of causing overhauls in a government by instituting new policies or creating new parts or roles to increase the effectiveness or overall performance of the whole. It often begins in the people in authority who not only direct them but are also at the forefront in their implementation. It is successful when the conditions at the time of the change are accommodating. It is also advisable to institute changes a little at a time to allow the lower levels who are coordinating the change to internalize them before enforcing the changes themselves. The COVID 19 outbreak has led to most governments having to institute changes that are disruptive and sudden. Some of the three before mentioned governments have instituted organizational change effectively while others have struggled to cope.

Chinas quick and effective response was aided by the flexibility of the organizational structure; the mode of governance is not democratic per se. it allows the government seating in Beijing to influence the lower level provincial governments. The government can also impose lockdowns anywhere in the country such as the one that was imposed in Wuhan and proved effective in the containment of the virus. The structure of government accommodated the General Secretary of the CPC also the head of the COVID 19 framework powers to influence any health directives throughout China. This supported efforts to combat the spread and effects of the virus as the centralized issuing of directives eliminated any contradictory information from any other sources whether relevant or otherwise.

The usa has a highly democratized society that allows the voicing of multiple opinions. This had resulted in a push and pull between the president and health experts. The experts signaled the need to start the CORONA virus mitigation procedures early and were seconded by several governors who began making organizational changes to bolster their health departments. On the other hand, the president, who holds much of the federal authority, expressed optimism that the USA would not be as hard hit as other nations that were already bearing the brunt of the pandemic. He delayed making the requisite organizational changes that would alleviate the pandemics effects in the future.

Canada on the other hand began making the requisite organizational changes in their structure well in advance. On March 5 MR Trudeau ordered the formation of a taskforce to deal with the pandemic which incorporated various powerful figures of government. He in consultation with his cabinet invested 27 million dollars to fund coronavirus research. In one of his earliest changes to mitigate the crisis, he assisted China with sixteen tones of much needed medical equipment for medical personnel.  This marked a change in export policy, with accompanying statutory transitions, to try and respond to the outbreak early.

Change Agent

This is the enabler of change. They act as advisors, facilitators, educators and overall managers of the change process (Cameron and Green 2019). They are skilled consultants in the change process who have specialized in change management. They take leading roles in institutions that require large scale changes or overhauls and ensure the process is smooth. The change agent must work with leaders with the political muscle to smoothen the transition process. Most of the changes arising from the COVID 19 pandemic are temporary and will likely be eradicated by the cessation of the outbreak if and when it happens. However, most governments would have benefitted greatly had there been change agents facilitating the work of technical health experts and government officials.

If I was mandated with the task of facilitating changes to fight the COVID 19 pandemic, I would invest my time in carrying out several procedures beginning with those that are already being done: I would mobilize all health departments to treat COVID 19 cases as a priority. Second, I would allocate funds to mitigate the adverse economic changes that the viral disease has brought about. Thirdly, I would direct that several hot zones be cordoned off or curfews be imposed to limit human interaction and hamper the diseases spread.

Several measures that are in place today would be eradicated under my watch. I would eliminate foreign assistance to outside countries to bolster our federal capabilities. Further, I would stop pointing accusing fingers towards China instead, I would enhance corporation with China to acquire insights into the possible ways I can fight the virus regardless of the differences in governance structures. Lastly, I would streamline origins of information and enhance validity checks for any COVID 19 related news to reduce the confusion and potentially fatal misinformation.

I would advance several non-existing measures to cushion people currently being ravaged by the scourge. I would temporarily abolish sanctions on nations who are also being affected by the pandemic including Iran. This would create unity among nations who all find themselves in a crisis at this time. Secondly, I would recall all service men to come in with the necessary screening and testing being fully implemented. This would increase the manpower available to combat the pandemic at this critical time when we need it the most.

The COVID 19 pandemic has brought a lot of change in the world. This has been enacted by various stakeholders with varying degree of success. We can only hope that the overall aim of eradicating the scourge is attained by these transitional measures.

References

World Health Organization, & World Health Organization. (2020). Report of the who-china joint mission on coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). Geneva: World Health Organization.

Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2019). Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers.

https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2020/03/11/prime-minister-outlines-canadas-covid-19-response

Bennis, W. G. (2000). Managing the dream: Reflections on leadership and change. Basic Books.